We moved from NYC to a rural beach town and struggled with isolation. We sold less than 2 years later.

The author and her husband traded their life in New York City for a coastal town in Maryland, thinking it was the next step they needed. However, after a year, they realized they were not ready to settle down. They sold the house and are now traveling full-time.

In the summer of 2024, they moved to a small town in Maryland, bought a house, and thought they had found their dream home. But they soon realized they were not ready to live in a rural area, far from the life they were accustomed to in New York City. The number one thing they missed was having friends around them, something they had taken for granted in the city.

After a year, they decided to sell the house, breaking even financially. They missed their friends and the active social life they had in the city. They also missed the convenience of being able to walk or take a train anywhere they needed to go. Their homeowners association had also banned short-term rentals, which was a big disappointment for them as they had planned to use that income to help cover their mortgage costs.

They sold the house and decided to travel and live in walkable cities for a while. They packed all their belongings into a storage unit and booked a furnished short-term rental in Durham, North Carolina, where their husband grew up. They spent August in Seattle, exploring a new city and enjoying low humidity.

Now, they have settled in Philadelphia for a few months and feel completely free. They know that the math didn't favor them, and they sold the house in under two years, breaking even. They believe that their decision was the right one for them, even if it wasn't the conventional path. They learned valuable lessons about what they value and where they want to be, and they are happy with their decision to travel and live life on their own terms.